


It's Too Hot To Move

by Kateera



Series: All In a Summer [14]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Fluff, M/M, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 16:09:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12016305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateera/pseuds/Kateera
Summary: It's a hot day and Jim is miserable. A conversation with Oswald is just what he needs to cheer up.





	It's Too Hot To Move

**Author's Note:**

> And so it continues! This chapter was written for the prompt, Fan. It is a little shorter but it's building up to something bigger :) As always, a big thank you to [thekeyholder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekeyholder) for being a wonderful beta, any other mistakes are all my own.
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who's reading and commenting and making my day with all the enthusiasm, it's been a pleasure!  
> Check me out on [tumblr](http://kateera.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/kateera_) to say hi or hit my coffee link if you love what I'm doing!

“Get home, Gordon, before you melt in this mess.” Mrs. Foster pointed to the door and Jim sighed in relief. 

 

“Thank you!” He yelled as he stripped off the heavy apron and ran to his locker.

 

Gotham in a heatwave was like living in a furnace and the heat brought out everyone’s temper. Sweat clung to every inch of Jim’s skin and it itched and pulled at his nerves until he wanted to throw something. His ride home from work was torture with the hot air blasting across his skin while he pedaled as fast as he could.

 

_ I need to get that car. I don't care how it looks so long as it has air conditioning.  _

 

The house was empty and quiet and he bolted up to his bedroom. Stripping off his sweat soaked clothes, Jim threw on shorts and a thin, white t-shirt and sighed with relief. Even with the air conditioning on at his house, it was still stifling in his bedroom, so he grabbed his phone and a book and headed downstairs. Pulling down an old three-blade fan from the closet, Jim plugged it in next to the couch and stood before the cool air, smiling as goosebumps raised on his skin.

 

_ Perfect. I never want to move. _

 

His phone dinged and Jim looked down to see a text from Oswald. 

 

**Oswald: Let’s move to Antarctica. I’m dying.**

 

Jim laughed and sat down on the couch, his irritation forgotten as he answered back. They talked all the time, texted constantly, and saw each other as often as possible, but Jim still felt like he couldn’t get enough of Oswald’s attention. 

 

**Jim: If we were in Antarctica, you would just complain about the cold. I’m thinking somewhere more temperate, like Canada.**

 

**Oswald: Why would I go to Canada? There are moose there!**

 

**Jim: What have moose ever done to you?**

 

Standing and walking to the kitchen, Jim grabbed a bottle of lemonade and a bag of chips, determined to enjoy his early dismissal from work.

 

**Oswald: I had a bad experience at the zoo, okay? That’s all you need to know.**

 

**Jim: Oh no, I’m your boyfriend and you need to spill.**

 

**Oswald: Fine, but just because it works right now, don’t think that the “boyfriend” card is going to work forever.**

 

**Jim: Wouldn’t dream of it.**

 

There was a long pause and Jim ate his chips as he waited for his explanation. He loved finding out new information about Oswald’s adventures and wondered if he’d been sent to the zoo on an errand and been traumatized by a deal gone bad. A deal involving moose. Jim giggled and when his phone dinged again, he opened the text with a quick swipe of his thumb.

 

**Oswald: My class went on a field trip to the zoo when I was in the sixth grade. My classmates locked me in an empty pen and left me there. It didn't stay empty, though, and a very upset moose was led into the pen while I hid. Luckily, I was small and could fit under a ledge where it couldn't reach me with its hooves. It took three tranquilizer darts to take it down and I got suspended for causing so much trouble** .

 

Jim stared at his phone in horror. It seemed that for every story Jim had of being ignored by his family, Oswald had one of torment from his peers. 

 

**Jim: I’m sorry. That’s awful. Did you get them back?”**

 

**Oswald: What do you think? I went back to that zoo, loaded up on animal manure and stuffed it in their lockers. Idiots.**

 

Laughing out loud, Jim held his phone to his chest and let the buzz of happiness flow through his body. 

 

**Jim: Good. I knew I could count on you to be devious.**

 

**Oswald: Well, I did it on a Friday night and I was suspended so… the whole school suffered for a while.**

 

**Jim: Double good.**

 

The fan whirred next to the couch as Jim pictured a young Oswald hauling buckets of manure into the school without getting caught, breaking into the right lockers and depositing his gift. 

 

**Jim: Your brain is a gift.**

 

**Oswald: Um, thanks.**

 

**Jim: I’m serious. I love your brain.**

 

**Oswald: Thanks, Jim.**

 

Jim blushed bright red even though they were only texting and there was no way Oswald could see that he’d erased ‘that’s what I love about you’ three times before finally settling on brain love. He didn’t want to text something so big, but it was getting harder and harder to hold it back. He wanted to yell it out on the roof and hide it forever and the conflicting feelings twisted his guts. He stared at the whirring fan until his phone dinged again.

 

**Oswald: What if we ran off to Scotland? I hear it rains a lot.**

 

Jim’s lips stretched into a grin as Oswald’s plans of buying a sheep farm and becoming a master shepherd danced across his phone screen.

 

_ Next time I see him, I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him I love him. _

  
  
  
  



End file.
